Parts of Ca Mau dyke demolished, threatens lives

CA MAU (VNS) — The dyke in southernmost Ca Mau Province has been demolished in certain spots, and the sea now poses a serious threat to the lives and farms of local residents.

The provincial People's Committee chairman Nguyen Tien Hai said that relevant agencies found 12 spots where hundreds of metres of the dyke was demolished and seawater had reached the foot of the dyke.

The province was taking measures to fix the broken spots, he said on Thursday.

Concerned authorities, which included the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and People's Committees of affected communes, were asked to be prepared and respond to any emergency, to ensure the safety of human lives and property.

Last month, the department estimated that about VND150 billion (US$6.72 million) was needed to build 5,100 metres of stone embankments.

The province has a coastline of 252km. If the dyke breaks, seawater could flood the rice and shrimp farms, as well as the residential areas.

The prime minister has approved VND284.5 billion ($12.7 million) in aid to help 19 provinces across the country address the consequences of droughts and saline intrusion since early this year.

There has been severe damage from drought and saline intrusion to the crops in the winter-spring and summer-fall season for 2014 and 2015 in these localities.

There are nine central provinces among the aid recipients. These are Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, and Ha Tinh, apart from Quang Binh, Quang Nam, and Quang Ngai. Also among the aid recipients are Binh Dinh, Khanh Hoa and Binh Thuan.

Other targeted localities are the northern mountainous province of Lai Chau, the northern province of Bac Ninh, the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, and the southern provinces of Binh Phuoc, Ben Tre, Ca Mau, Tra Vinh, and Vinh Long, in addition to Hau Giang and Tien Giang. — VNS